Estimation of object properties in 3d world

ABSTRACT

Objects within two-dimensional video data are modeled by three-dimensional models as a function of object type and motion through manually calibrating a two-dimensional image to the three spatial dimensions of a three-dimensional modeling cube. Calibrated three-dimensional locations of an object in motion in the two-dimensional image field of view of a video data input are determined and used to determine a heading direction of the object as a function of the camera calibration and determined movement between the determined three-dimensional locations. The two-dimensional object image is replaced in the video data input with an object-type three-dimensional polygonal model having a projected bounding box that best matches a bounding box of an image blob, the model oriented in the determined heading direction. The bounding box of the replacing model is then scaled to fit the object image blob bounding box, and rendered with extracted image features.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to estimating properties ofthree-dimensional (3D) objects in two-dimensional (2D) video data.

Understanding and determining the import of the various objectmovements, for example a person approaching an area or taking some sortof action that exposes that person or others to a heightened hazardrisk, may be difficult from 2D video data streams. Human operators maybe required to simultaneously review and analyze multiple monitors ordisplay windows for object movements, and the 2D nature of video datamay make object recognition and tracking by the human eye difficult,particularly in visually rich or noisy environments.

Object tracking and recognition may be improved when 2D video dataobjects are modeled with 3D models, in one aspect as recognizing andtracking 3D objects is inherently more intuitive to human observers.However, adequately rendering such 3D models with regard to movingobjects is a complex process, generally requiring complex dataprocessing and/or data inputs from other cameras or other devices, suchas range, image and/or object tracking sensors, making robust modelingdifficult to achieve.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for modelingobjects within two-dimensional (2D) video data by three-dimensional (3D)models as a function of object type and motion includes calibrating a 2Dimage field of view of a video data input of a camera to three spatialdimensions of a 3D modeling cube via a user interface of an applicationexecuting on a processor. In response to observing an image of an objectin motion in the 2D image field of view of a video data input, aprocessor determines 3D locations of the observed 2D object image asintersections between a ground plane of the calibrated camera field ofview and respective backward projected lines each passing through acenter of the calibrated camera and respective points on the object 2Dimage within a focal, and thereby determines a heading direction of theobject as a function of the calibrating of the camera and a movementbetween the determined 3D locations. The 2D object image is replaced inthe video data input with an object-type 3D polygonal model having aprojected bounding box that best matches a bounding box of an imageblob, the model oriented in the determined heading direction. Thebounding box of the replacing model is then scaled to fit the objectimage blob bounding box, and the scaled model rendered with imagefeatures are extracted from the 2D image data as a function of thecalibrated dimensions.

In another embodiment, a system has a processing unit, computer readablememory and a computer readable storage medium device, wherein theprocessing unit executes program instructions stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory, tocalibrate a 2D image field of view of a video data input of a camera tothree spatial dimensions of a 3D modeling cube provided by a usermanually via a user interface. In response to observing an image of anobject in motion in the 2D image field of view of a video data input,the processing unit thus determines 3D locations of the observed 2Dobject image as intersections between a ground plane of the calibratedcamera field of view and respective backward projected lines eachpassing through a center of the calibrated camera and respective pointson the object 2D image within a focal plane, and thereby determines aheading direction of the object as a function of the calibrating of thecamera and a movement determined between the determined 3D locations.The 2D object image is replaced in the video data input with anobject-type 3D polygonal model having a projected bounding box that bestmatches a bounding box of an image blob, the model oriented in thedetermined heading direction. The bounding box of the replacing model isthen scaled to fit the object image blob bounding box, and the scaledmodel rendered with image features are extracted from the 2D image dataas a function of the calibrated dimensions.

In another embodiment, an article of manufacture has a computer readablestorage medium device with computer readable program code embodiedtherewith, the computer readable program code comprising instructionsthat, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computerprocessor to calibrate a 2D image field of view of a video data input ofa camera to three spatial dimensions of a 3D modeling cube provided by auser manually via a user interface. In response to observing an image ofan object in motion in the 2D image field of view of a video data input,the processing unit thus determines 3D locations of the observed 2Dobject image as intersections between a ground plane of the calibratedcamera field of view and respective backward projected lines eachpassing through a center of the calibrated camera and respective pointson the object 2D image within a focal plane, and thereby determines aheading direction of the object as a function of the calibrating of thecamera and a movement determined between the determined 3D locations.The 2D object image is replaced in the video data input with anobject-type 3D polygonal model having a projected bounding box that bestmatches a bounding box of an image blob, the model oriented in thedetermined heading direction. The bounding box of the replacing model isthen scaled to fit the object image blob bounding box, and the scaledmodel rendered with image features are extracted from the 2D image dataas a function of the calibrated dimensions.

In another embodiment, a method for providing a service for modelingobjects within two-dimensional (2D) video data by three-dimensional (3D)models as a function of object type and motion includes providing one ormore articles, including camera calibration interface that enables auser to manually calibrate a 2D image field of view of a video datainput of a camera to three spatial dimensions of a 3D modeling cube. Inresponse to observing an image of an object in motion in the 2D imagefield of view of a video data input, a 3D location determiner determines3D locations of the observed 2D object image as intersections between aground plane of the calibrated camera field of view and respectivebackward projected lines each passing through a center of the calibratedcamera and respective points on the object 2D image within a focalplane, and a heading direction determiner determines a heading directionof the object as a function of the calibrating of the camera and amovement determined between the determined 3D locations. A modelselector replaces the 2D object image in the video data input with anobject-type 3D polygonal model having a projected bounding box that bestmatches a bounding box of an image blob, the model oriented in thedetermined heading direction. A model scaler scales the bounding box ofthe replacing model to fit the object image blob bounding box, and thescaled model rendered by a feature extractor with image featuresextracted from the 2D image data as a function of the calibrateddimensions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustration of an embodiment of a method orsystem for modeling objects within 2D video data by 3D models as afunction of object type and motion according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an embodiment of a userinterface for manual camera calibration according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of a back projection modelingtechnique according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of back projection modelingaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of polygonal 3D model examplesaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of model and object image blobbounding boxes according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of determining dimensional vectorsfor models according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrammatic illustrations of a projection of apolygonal 3D model on an object image according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustration of a computerized implementationof an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustration of an article according to anembodiment of the present invention.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merelyschematic representations, not intended to portray specific parametersof the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typicalembodiments of the invention and, therefore, should not be considered aslimiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numberingrepresents like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in abaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method, process or systemfor modeling objects within 2D video data by 3D models as a function ofobject type and motion according to the present invention isillustrated. At 102 a user manually calibrates a camera image fieldconfiguration through a user interface of an application executing on adevice processor by specifying the three spatial dimensions (i.e. lengthx-axis, height y-axis and width z-axis dimension, each at right angleswith respect to each other) of a 3D modeling cube within a 2D imagefield of view of a video data input.

In response to observing an object in motion in the field of view of 2Dvideo data of the calibrated camera, at 104 an initial 3D location ofthe observed object is computed as the intersection between a groundplane of the calibrated camera field of view and one or more backwardprojected lines passing through a camera center and respective points(one for each of the lines) on the 2D object within a focal plane in the2D image field of view. At 106 another, consecutively observed(subsequent in time) sample (or observation) of the object in the 2Dvideo data focal plane is acquired and used to compute a second,later-in-time 3D location (as above at 104, thus as the intersectionbetween the calibrated camera field-of-view ground plane and one or morebackward projected lines passing through a camera center and respectivepoints on the 2D object within the 2D image field-of-view focal plane).Object recognition and tracking may be practiced through a variety ofprocesses and systems, for example through computer vision system objectdetection and tracking determined by a processor according toembodiments of the present invention, or from outputs of another system,process or device technology.

At 108 a heading direction of the object is determined as a function ofthe manual calibration of the camera and the relative movement observedof the object from the first 3D location (determined at 104) to thesecond, later location 3D location (determined at 106).

At 110 the 2D object image in the video data input is replaced with oneof a plurality of object-type 3D polygonal models that has a projectedbounding box that best fits or otherwise matches a bounding box ratio ofan image blob of the 2D object image relative to others of the 3Dpolygonal models, the replacing further orienting the selectedobject-type 3D polygonal model in the determined heading direction. Moreparticularly, each of the 3D polygonal models is for a different objecttype and has a different projected bounding box aspect ratio relative tothe other models. Two similarities to the image blob bounding box areused to determine which model best fits the target object: a projectedsize-to-bounding box-ratio comparison, and a bounding box aspect ratiocomparison, wherein the projected model bounding box that best matchboth similarities is selected as the best fit. For example, oneembodiment determines ratios of projected sizes of each of the 3Dpolygonal model bounding boxes to the image blob bounding box, comparestheir aspect ratio values to an aspect ratio value of the image blobbounding box, and selects the model with the projected model boundingbox that has a lowest determined ratio of projected size and an aspectratio value that is closest to the aspect ratio value of the image blobbounding box.

Determining the best fit or match as a function of the two similaritiescomprehends a variety of combination methodology. For example, oneembodiment may determine a weighted sum of the two measures. Embodimentsmay also use an “or” logic condition determination, finding a best fitif either one of these measures satisfies a strict threshold or criteriameasure value or condition, or an “and” logic condition wherein bothmust meet respective threshold or criteria measure values/conditions.Still other embodiments of the present invention may weight or preferone over the other, in some examples as a condition precedent for theother: for example, in one embodiment the aspect ratio similarity has apriority over the size-to-aspect-ratio similarity, wherein thesize-to-aspect-ratio similarity is considered only if the aspect-ratiosimilarity satisfies a predefined condition.

At 112 the bounding box of the replacing polygonal 3D model is scaled tofit or otherwise correspond to the object image blob bounding box, andat 114 the scaled replacing polygonal 3D model is rendered with imagefeatures extracted from the 2D image data as a function of thecalibrated dimensions of the 3D modeling cube.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface 202 for enabling auser to manually calibrate the camera configuration, including thecamera's 3D location, orientation and focal length, to estimate 2Dobserved video objects in a 3D world modeling according to 102 ofFIG. 1. Through the user interface 202 the user manually specifies alocation of a 3D cube 204 within a field of view 206 of a 2D videoimage, and further directly enters 3D dimensional values for thedimensions of the sides 210 of the 3D model 204 (and thereby sizing the3D cube 204) through dialog boxes and radio buttons, etc., 208, andwherein correspondences between 3D coordinates of the cube corners 212and their projections in the image filed of view 206 are used toestimate the camera calibration (or projection) matrix. The video camerais thus calibrated to recover extrinsic camera parameters that place thecamera within a spatial context of a 3D model of the environment of itsfield of view, the calibrating determining the camera's height,orientation and position in the world plane represented by the 2D videoimage data. The user interface 202 may also provide a re-estimationfield 212 for manually re-estimating the calibration or projectionmatrix information for the 3D cube 204 when a user changes the 3D cubeconfiguration.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example of computing the initial 3D location ofthe object at 104 of FIG. 1, wherein an initial calibrated 3D location302 of the object image 304 observed in a focal plane 305 in the fieldof view is computed as an intersection 354 between a ground plane 306and a backward projected line 350 passing through a center of the camera310 and a centroid 352 of the 2D object image 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates an initial, first position P₁ 402 and asubsequent-in-time second position P₂ 404 of a 3D model according toembodiments of the present invention determined according to the backprojection processes described above with respect to steps 104 and 106of FIG. 1. A heading direction 406 of the object is determined pursuantto 108 of FIG. 1 as a function of the manual calibration of the cameraand the relative movement observed of the object from the first 3Dlocation 402 to the second, later 3D location 404 for use with orientinga projected 3D model 408 with respect to the ground plane 306. In someembodiments, utilizing a static calibrated camera, the heading directionfor each second or subsequent, later positions may use the directiondetermined for a first or other previous determined observationposition.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of some different polygonal 3D modelsappropriate for use with different object types according to embodimentsof the present invention, as a human model 452 for use with peopleobject types, an automobile model 454 for use with automobile objecttypes and a sport utility vehicle (SUV) model 456 for use with SUV orpick-up truck object types, and still other models may be practiced withembodiments of the present invention. Each of the models 452, 454 and456 have different bounding box-ratio dimensions in the 3D world and inthe 2D projection in the image plane, and thus the model with thebounding box-ratio dimensions that best matches the 2D object image whenprojected onto the 2D object image is selected for use with the object.For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the aspect ration of bounding box ratioBB_(m) 462 of the automobile model 454 best matches the aspect ratio ofbounding box BB_(h) 464 of an image blob of the 2D object image,resulting in its selection for use with the object.

Scaling the selected model to fit the object image may comprehend avariety of scaling processes. In some embodiments, different objecttypes may be efficiently scaled through different scaling processes,affording for efficiencies by avoiding unnecessary dimensional scaling.More particularly, some models may require scaling in only one, or nomore than two, of the three spatial dimensions, wherein due to visualperceptions of the particular type of model, the remaining dimensionsneed not be scaled when used to replace the object image. Thus, someembodiments of the present invention may determine only a first of thespatial dimensions of the projected bounding box of the selected modeland the object image blob bounding box, and thereby a first spatialdimension ratio between them, which is used to scale the bounding box ofthe selected model in that first dimension to match the object imageblob bounding box. The model is then shifted to correspond with theobject image blob, wherein a location point on a boundary box line ofthe selected model that corresponds to the same boundary box line of theobject image blob is co-located with a corresponding point on saidcorresponding same boundary box line of the object image blob, whereinthe selected model location point is on a back projection linecomprising the corresponding point of the object image blob and thecenter of the calibrated camera.

For example, adults, children and other humanoid objects may havedifferent heights as rendering in video data, but have generally similarwidth or length dimensions that do not require differentiated scalingbetween the different sizes (adult, child, etc.) in order to adequatelyrender the object with a model within the video image for comprehensionby a human reviewer of the video. Accordingly, some embodiments of thepresent invention may scale humanoid object-type models with regard toonly the single height dimension, without a need to scale the otherwidth and length dimensions of the 3D model. Thus, referring again toFIG. 3, one embodiment of the present invention estimates the height ofa person object for scaling by: (i) determining a height of a selected,projected model 302; (ii) determining a height of the observed object bydetermining a distance from a top “head-area” point 322 of the boundingbox of the 2D object image blob 304 to a corresponding bottom “foot”location 312, and wherein the foot location 312 may also be estimated asa turning point in a distance transform output; (iii) finding a ratiobetween the determined heights of the projected model 302 and the objectblob 304 and scaling the person model 302 accordingly such that itmatches with the observation; and (iv) shifting the 3D person model 302such that its projected top location 324 (along a top boundary line 320also passing through the camera 310 center, the top “head-area” point322 of the 2D object blob 304 and intersecting the ground plane 306)co-locates with the top “head-area” point 322 of the bounding box of the2D object image blob 304. The co-locating step (iv) may also compriseco-locating a projected bottom location point 314 intersecting theground plane 306 on a bottom boundary line 308 back projected throughthe camera 310 center and a bottom boundary point 312 of the 2D objectblob 304.

In contrast, the models for different vehicle objects such as sedanautomobiles, SUV and cargo trucks, may require scaling multiples oftheir three spatial dimensions (length, height and width) to fit theircorresponding objects to adequately render the vehicle objects withinvideo images for comprehension by a human reviewer of the video. In oneexample, comparison of the projected bounding boxes of each of aplurality of 3D polygonal models as a function of the two similarities(the projected size-to-bounding box-ratio and the bounding box aspectratio) finds that that the bounding box of the vehicle object-type model454 best fits/matches the bounding box of an image blob of a 2D objectimage in the video data. Scaling factors in the horizontal S_(x) 466 andvertical S_(y) 468 (FIG. 6) directions are then determined by comparisonof the model bounding box 462 to the bounding box 464 of the observed 2Dvehicle in image, wherein each of the projected scaling factors S_(x)466 and S_(y) 468 may be determined to have different values.

More particularly, referring now to FIG. 7, a 3D width vector V_(x) 472is determined on the image ground plane 306 (FIG. 3) through alignmentwith an x-axis of the 2D object image blob bounding box in image space,and a 3D height vector V_(y) 474 through alignment with a y-axis. Aheading direction vector V_(o) 476 is determined as a function of themanual calibration of the camera and the relative movement observed ofthe object from the first 3D location 402 (FIG. 4) to the second, later3D location 404 (FIG. 4), wherein an orthogonal vector V_(O) ^(T) 478 isdefined as the vector perpendicular to V_(o) 476. Vector V_(o) 476 isaligned with a length dimension of the vehicle in 3D, while V_(O) ^(T)478 aligns with a width dimension. By projecting V_(x) 472 to thevectors V_(o) 476 and V_(O) ^(T) 478, the scaling factors for the lengthand width dimensions may be obtained as derived from the horizontalscaling factor S_(x) 466 in the image plane, and the scaling factors inthe length and width dimensions derived from the vertical factor S_(y)468 can be computed similarly. The derived scaling factors in the lengthdimension V_(o) 476 may be summed to determine a final scaling factor inthe length dimension. Similarly, derived scaling factors in the widthdimension V_(O) ^(T) 478 may be summed to determine a final scalingfactor in the width dimension.

The third dimension scaling factor is selected from one of the two finalsummed scaling factors of the other two dimensions. For example, asthere is generally a limited relative variation between width and heightscaling factors for vehicle models, embodiments of the present inventionmay use the same scaling factor for the width dimension in the scalingprocess for the height dimension. Accordingly, the selected vehiclemodel is scaled in all three spatial dimensions (length, width andheight) such that its 2D projection in the image plane best fits withthe image blob observation.

FIG. 8A shows an example of a polygonal model of a truck 481 a beforescaling as projected on a 2D image of a truck object 483 having an imageblob bounding box 484, wherein FIG. 8B shows the model 481 b as scaledlarger 486 in each of its three spatial dimensions as described abovewith respect to FIGS. 6 and 7 to fit the truck object 483.

For feature extraction for rendering the model (114, FIG. 1), sizefeatures modeling actual size of the object in real-world measurementsare determined as a function of the scaling factors S_(x) 466 and S_(y)468 of the model. Speed may be determined as a ratio between 3Ddisplacement of the object to a time difference value. Refinements mayalso be incorporated to obtain better results, for example computingaverage values over a period of time.

Thus, embodiments of the present invention solve problems in estimatingproperties of 3D objects in surveillance videos, such as object size inheight, length and width in real-world metrics (e.g., feet, meters,etc.) as well as object speed (for example, kilometers ormiles-per-hour) without complex camera calibration computations, whichin the prior art generally requires the use of high-level mathematicequations to estimate a camera matrix. Other prior art methods usepseudo-calibration techniques wherein a user inserts artificial markersin the video image to interpolate object locations; however, suchpsuedo-3D are really just simple mappings from a 2D pixel location to apre-calculated value, which many times is incorrect and results infailure to correctly perceive the object in by the viewer.

In contrast, embodiments of the present invention utilize manualcalibration camera settings, for example including a camera's 3Dlocation, orientation and focal length, to estimate the 2D observedvideo object's 3D world. Simple but robust 3D object models are selectedthat best fit the 2D observed objects in video, and features of theobject models are estimated including location of the object on theground plane. The object's 3D heading direction and the scale of theobject models in the length, height and width dimensions are determinedas a function of comparing a projected bounding box of the model to anunderlying image blob bounding box of the object to be modeled. With theeffective estimation of these properties, the object model that bestfits the observed objects can be determined and scaled appropriatelyand, consequently, its 3D properties such as size and speed can beextracted.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an exemplary computerized implementation of anembodiment of the present invention includes a computer or otherprogrammable device 522 in communication with one or more cameras orother imaging devices 506 (for example, video cameras or video servers,etc.). Instructions 542 reside within computer readable code in acomputer readable memory 516, or in a computer readable storage system532, another device 506 or other computer readable storage medium thatis accessed through a computer network infrastructure 526 by aprocessing unit (CPU) 538. Thus, the instructions, when implemented bythe processing unit (CPU) 538, cause the processing unit (CPU) 538 torepresent objects tracked within 2D video data by 3D modeling asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1 through 8A and 8B.

FIG. 10 illustrates an article 601 (for example, a programmable device,system, etc.) according to the present invention that represents objectstracked within 2D video data by 3D modeling as described above. One ormore of the components of the article 601 are tangible devices thatperform specific functions, for example comprising the processing unit538, the computer readable memory 516 and the computer readable storagemedium 532 described above. Thus, as understood by reference to FIGS.1-9 and the associated description material above, a Camera CalibrationInterface 602 enables a user to manually calibrate a camera image fieldby specifying the three spatial dimensions of a 3D modeling cube withina 2D image field of view of a video data input. A 3D Location Determiner604 determines 3D locations of an object observed in motion in the fieldof view of 2D video data of the calibrated camera, for example asintersections between a ground plane of the calibrated camera field ofview and backward projected lines passing through a camera center andrespective points on the 2D object within a focal plane in the 2D imagefield of view.

A Heading Direction Determiner 608 determines a heading of the object asa function of the manual calibration of the camera and the relativemovement observed between determined 3D locations. A Model Selector 610selects a polygonal 3D model and replaces the 2D object image with theselected model as a function of projected bounding box and image blobbounding box comparisons, selecting a model with a best fitting boundingbox. A Model Scaler 612 scales the replacing model to fit or otherwisecorrespond to the object image blob bounding box, the scalingappropriate to the selected model. A Feature Extractor 614 renders thereplacing polygonal 3D model with image features that are extracted fromthe 2D image data as a function of the calibrated dimensions of the 3Dmodeling cube.

Embodiments of the present invention may also perform process steps ofthe invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. That is,a service provider could offer to use discrete matrices of an array ofthe same image sensors to obtain a plurality of different images atdifferent f-stops from a common exposure as described above with respectto FIGS. 1-6. Thus, the service provider can create, maintain, andsupport, etc., a computer infrastructure, such as the network computersystem 522, network environment 526, and/or the article 601 (or partsthereof) that perform the process steps of the invention for one or morecustomers. In return, the service provider can receive payment from thecustomer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the serviceprovider can receive payment from the sale of advertising content to oneor more third parties. Services may comprise one or more of: (1)installing program code on a computing device, such as thecomputers/devices 522/601, from a computer-readable medium device 516,520 or 506; (2) adding one or more computing devices to a computerinfrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or moreexisting systems of the computer infrastructure to enable the computerinfrastructure to perform the process steps of the invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. Certain examples and elementsdescribed in the present specification, including in the claims and asillustrated in the Figures, may be distinguished or otherwise identifiedfrom others by unique adjectives (e.g. a “first” element distinguishedfrom another “second” or “third” of a plurality of elements, a “primary”distinguished from a “secondary” one or “another” item, etc.) Suchidentifying adjectives are generally used to reduce confusion oruncertainty, and are not to be construed to limit the claims to anyspecific illustrated element or embodiment, or to imply any precedence,ordering or ranking of any claim elements, limitations or process steps.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for modeling objects withintwo-dimensional video data by three-dimensional models as a function ofobject type and motion, the method comprising: in response to observingan image of an object in motion in a two-dimensional image field of viewof a video data input from a camera, determining an initialthree-dimensional location of the observed two-dimensional object imageas an intersection between a ground plane of the camera field of viewand a backward projected line passing through a center of the camera anda point on the object two-dimensional image within a focal plane in thetwo-dimensional image field of view of the video data input at aninitial time; determining a second three-dimensional location of theobserved two-dimensional object image via the processor as anintersection between the ground plane and another backward projectedline passing through the center of the camera and the point on theobject two-dimensional image within the video data input two-dimensionalimage field of view focal plane at a second time that is subsequent tothe initial time; determining a heading direction of the object as afunction of a movement of the two-dimensional object image from thedetermined initial three-dimensional location to the determined secondsubsequent three-dimensional location; replacing the two-dimensionalobject image within the video data input with a selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model; orienting the selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model replacing the two-dimensional objectimage within the video data input in the determined heading direction;and scaling a bounding box of the selected three-dimensional polygonalmodel replacing the two-dimensional object image within the video datainput from the camera to fit an image blob bounding box determined forthe observed two-dimensional object image.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: integrating computer-readable program code into acomputer system comprising a processor, a computer readable memory and acomputer readable storage medium; and wherein the processor executesprogram code instructions stored on the computer-readable storage mediumvia the computer readable memory and thereby performs the steps ofdetermining the initial three-dimensional location of the observedtwo-dimensional object image in response to observing the image of theobject in motion in the two-dimensional image field of view of the videodata input from the camera, determining the second three-dimensionallocation of the observed two-dimensional object image, determining theheading direction of the object, replacing the two-dimensional objectimage within the video data input with the selected three-dimensionalpolygonal model, orienting the selected three-dimensional polygonalmodel in the determined heading direction, and scaling the bounding boxof the selected three-dimensional polygonal model within the video datainput from the camera to fit the image blob bounding box determined forthe observed two-dimensional object image.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: selecting the selected three-dimensional polygonalmodel from a plurality of object-type three-dimensional polygonal modelsthat each have projected sizes and different bounding box aspect ratios,in response to the selected three-dimensional polygonal model having: aratio of projected size to a size of image blob bounding box determinedfor the observed two-dimensional object image that meets a thresholdvalue; and an aspect ratio that is more similar to an aspect ratio ofthe image blob bounding box determined for the observed two-dimensionalobject image, relative to the aspect ratios of the bounding boxes ofothers of the plurality of object-type three-dimensional polygonalmodels.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of selecting theselected three-dimensional polygonal model from the plurality ofobject-type three-dimensional polygonal models further comprises:determining for each of the models weighted sums of their respectiveaspect ratios and ratios of projected size to the size of the image blobbounding box determined for the observed two-dimensional object image,wherein the aspect ratios are weighted more heavily than the ratios ofprojected size; and selecting a model having a best weighted sum valueas the selected model.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:selecting the model having a best weighted sum value as the selectedmodel from a subset of the models that each have an aspect ratiosimilarity to the aspect ratio of the image blob bounding box thatsatisfies a threshold condition.
 6. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: selecting one of a single-dimension scaling process and amulti-dimension scaling process as appropriate to the object type of thereplacing polygonal three-dimensional model, wherein thesingle-dimension and multi-dimension scaling processes are appropriateto different ones of the object types of the polygonal three-dimensionalmodel; and wherein the scaling the bounding box ratio of the replacingpolygonal three-dimensional model comprises using the selected one ofthe single-dimension scaling process and the multi-dimension scalingprocess.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the selected scaling processis the single-dimension scaling process, and wherein the scaling thebounding box ratio of the replacing polygonal three-dimensional model tocorrespond to the object image blob bounding box ratio comprises:determining a first spatial dimension of three-dimensional spatialdimensions of the projected bounding box of the selected model, thefirst spatial dimension of the object image blob bounding box, and afirst spatial dimension ratio between the determined selected modelfirst spatial dimension and the determined object image blob boundingbox first spatial dimension; scaling the bounding box of the selectedmodel in the first dimension by the determined first spatial dimensionratio to match the object image blob bounding box; and shifting theselected model so that a location point of the selected model on aboundary box line of the projected bounding box of the selected modelthat is normal to an axis of the first dimension is co-located with acorresponding point of the object image blob on a corresponding boundarybox line of the object image blob bounding box, wherein the selectedmodel location point is on a back projection line comprising thecorresponding point of the object image blob and the center of thecamera.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the selected scaling processis the multi-dimension scaling process, and wherein the scaling thebounding box ratio of the replacing polygonal three-dimensional model tocorrespond to the object image blob bounding box ratio comprises:determining a first dimensional vector of three-dimensional spatialdimensions of the two-dimensional object image blob bounding box inimage space on the image ground plane aligned with a first dimensionaxis of the object image blob bounding box; determining a seconddimensional vector of the three-dimensional spatial dimensions of thetwo-dimensional object image blob bounding box in image space on theimage ground plane through alignment with a second dimension axis of theobject image blob bounding box; determining a heading direction vectoras a function of calibrating of the camera and the movement of thetwo-dimensional object image from the determined initialthree-dimensional location to the determined second subsequentthree-dimensional location; determining a third dimension vectorperpendicular to the heading vector and aligned with a third dimensionaxis of the three-dimensional spatial dimensions; projecting the firstdimensional vector to the heading direction vector and the thirddimension vector to obtain first projected dimension scaling factors foreach of the first dimension and the second dimension; projecting thesecond dimensional vector to the heading direction vector and the thirddimension vector to obtain second projected dimension scaling factorsfor each of the first dimension and the second dimension; determining afinal scaling factor for the first dimension by summing the first andsecond projected dimension scaling factors obtained for the firstdimension; determining a final scaling factor for the second dimensionby summing the first and second projected dimension scaling factorsobtained for the second dimension; selecting one of the determined finalfirst and second dimension scaling factors as a final third dimensionscaling factor; and scaling each of the three dimensions of the selectedmodel by their respective final first, second and third dimensionscaling factors.
 9. A system, comprising: a processor; a computerreadable memory in circuit communication with the processor; and acomputer readable storage medium in circuit communication with theprocessor; wherein the processor executes program instructions stored onthe computer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memoryand thereby: in response to observing an image of an object in motion ina two-dimensional image field of view of a video data input from acamera, determines an initial three-dimensional location of the observedtwo-dimensional object image as an intersection between a ground planeof the camera field of view and a backward projected line passingthrough a center of the camera and a point on the object two-dimensionalimage within a focal plane in the two-dimensional image field of view ofthe video data input at an initial time; determines a secondthree-dimensional location of the observed two-dimensional object imagevia the processor as an intersection between the ground plane andanother backward projected line passing through the center of the cameraand the point on the object two-dimensional image within the video datainput two-dimensional image field of view focal plane at a second timethat is subsequent to the initial time; determines a heading directionof the object as a function of a movement of the two-dimensional objectimage from the determined initial three-dimensional location to thedetermined second subsequent three-dimensional location; replaces thetwo-dimensional object image within the video data input with a selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model; orients the selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model replacing the two-dimensional objectimage within the video data input in the determined heading direction;and scales a bounding box of the selected three-dimensional polygonalmodel replacing the two-dimensional object image within the video datainput from the camera to fit an image blob bounding box determined forthe observed two-dimensional object image.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the processor executes the program instructions stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory andthereby further: selects the selected three-dimensional polygonal modelfrom a plurality of object-type three-dimensional polygonal models thateach have projected sizes and different bounding box aspect ratios, inresponse to the selected three-dimensional polygonal model having: aratio of projected size to a size of image blob bounding box determinedfor the observed two-dimensional object image that meets a thresholdvalue; and an aspect ratio that is more similar to an aspect ratio ofthe image blob bounding box determined for the observed two-dimensionalobject image, relative to the aspect ratios of the bounding boxes ofothers of the plurality of object-type three-dimensional polygonalmodels.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor executes theprogram instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium viathe computer readable memory and thereby selects the selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model from the plurality of object-typethree-dimensional polygonal models by: determining for each of themodels weighted sums of their respective aspect ratios and ratios ofprojected size to the size of the image blob bounding box determined forthe observed two-dimensional object image, wherein the aspect ratios areweighted more heavily than the ratios of projected size; and selecting amodel having a best weighted sum value as the selected model.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the processor executes the programinstructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via thecomputer readable memory and thereby selects the model having a bestweighted sum value as the selected model from a subset of the modelsthat each have an aspect ratio similarity to the aspect ratio of theimage blob bounding box that satisfies a threshold condition.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the processor executes the programinstructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium via thecomputer readable memory and thereby selects one of a single-dimensionscaling process and a multi-dimension scaling process as appropriate tothe object type of the replacing polygonal three-dimensional model;wherein the single-dimension and multi-dimension scaling processes areappropriate to different ones of the object types of the polygonalthree-dimensional model; and wherein the scaling the bounding box ratioof the replacing polygonal three-dimensional model comprises using theselected one of the single-dimension scaling process and themulti-dimension scaling process.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein theprocessor executes the program instructions stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory andthereby scales the bounding box of the selected three-dimensionalpolygonal model by using the single-dimension scaling process; andwherein the single-dimension scaling process comprises: determining afirst spatial dimension of three-dimensional spatial dimensions of theprojected bounding box of the selected model, the first spatialdimension of the object image blob bounding box, and a first spatialdimension ratio between the determined selected model first spatialdimension and the determined object image blob bounding box firstspatial dimension; scaling the bounding box of the selected model in thefirst dimension by the determined first spatial dimension ratio to matchthe object image blob bounding box; and shifting the selected model sothat a location point of the selected model on a boundary box line ofthe projected bounding box of the selected model that is normal to anaxis of the first dimension is co-located with a corresponding point ofthe object image blob on a corresponding boundary box line of the objectimage blob bounding box, wherein the selected model location point is ona back projection line comprising the corresponding point of the objectimage blob and the center of the camera.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein the processor executes the program instructions stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium via the computer readable memory andthereby scales the bounding box of the selected three-dimensionalpolygonal model by using the multi-dimension scaling process; andwherein the multi-dimension scaling process comprises: determining afirst dimensional vector of three-dimensional spatial dimensions of thetwo-dimensional object image blob bounding box in image space on theimage ground plane aligned with a first dimension axis of the objectimage blob bounding box; determining a second dimensional vector of thethree-dimensional spatial dimensions of the two-dimensional object imageblob bounding box in image space on the image ground plane throughalignment with a second dimension axis of the object image blob boundingbox; determining a heading direction vector as a function of calibratingof the camera and the movement of the two-dimensional object image fromthe determined initial three-dimensional location to the determinedsecond subsequent three-dimensional location; determining a thirddimension vector perpendicular to the heading vector and aligned with athird dimension axis of the three-dimensional spatial dimensions;projecting the first dimensional vector to the heading direction vectorand the third dimension vector to obtain first projected dimensionscaling factors for each of the first dimension and the seconddimension; projecting the second dimensional vector to the headingdirection vector and the third dimension vector to obtain secondprojected dimension scaling factors for each of the first dimension andthe second dimension; determining a final scaling factor for the firstdimension by summing the first and second projected dimension scalingfactors obtained for the first dimension; determining a final scalingfactor for the second dimension by summing the first and secondprojected dimension scaling factors obtained for the second dimension;selecting one of the determined final first and second dimension scalingfactors as a final third dimension scaling factor; and scaling each ofthe three dimensions of the selected model by their respective finalfirst, second and third dimension scaling factors.
 16. A computerprogram product for modeling objects within two-dimensional video databy three-dimensional models as a function of object type and motion, thecomputer program product comprising: a computer readable storage mediumhaving computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computerreadable program code comprising instructions for execution by aprocessor that cause the processor to: in response to observing an imageof an object in motion in a two-dimensional image field of view of avideo data input from a camera, determine an initial three-dimensionallocation of the observed two-dimensional object image as an intersectionbetween a ground plane of the camera field of view and a backwardprojected line passing through a center of the camera and a point on theobject two-dimensional image within a focal plane in the two-dimensionalimage field of view of the video data input at an initial time;determine a second three-dimensional location of the observedtwo-dimensional object image via the processor as an intersectionbetween the ground plane and another backward projected line passingthrough the center of the camera and the point on the objecttwo-dimensional image within the video data input two-dimensional imagefield of view focal plane at a second time that is subsequent to theinitial time; determine a heading direction of the object as a functionof a movement of the two-dimensional object image from the determinedinitial three-dimensional location to the determined second subsequentthree-dimensional location; replace the two-dimensional object imagewithin the video data input with a selected three-dimensional polygonalmodel; orient the selected three-dimensional polygonal model replacingthe two-dimensional object image within the video data input in thedetermined heading direction; and scale a bounding box of the selectedthree-dimensional polygonal model replacing the two-dimensional objectimage within the video data input from the camera to fit an image blobbounding box determined for the observed two-dimensional object image.17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computerreadable program code instructions for execution by the processorfurther cause the processor to: select the selected three-dimensionalpolygonal model from a plurality of object-type three-dimensionalpolygonal models that each have projected sizes and different boundingbox aspect ratios, in response to the selected three-dimensionalpolygonal model having: a ratio of projected size to a size of imageblob bounding box determined for the observed two-dimensional objectimage that meets a threshold value; and an aspect ratio that is moresimilar to an aspect ratio of the image blob bounding box determined forthe observed two-dimensional object image, relative to the aspect ratiosof the bounding boxes of others of the plurality of object-typethree-dimensional polygonal models.
 18. The computer program product ofclaim 17, wherein the computer readable program code instructions forexecution by the processor further cause the processor to select theselected three-dimensional polygonal model from the plurality ofobject-type three-dimensional polygonal models by: determining for eachof the models weighted sums of their respective aspect ratios and ratiosof projected size to the size of the image blob bounding box determinedfor the observed two-dimensional object image, wherein the aspect ratiosare weighted more heavily than the ratios of projected size; andselecting a model having a best weighted sum value as the selectedmodel.
 19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein thecomputer readable program code instructions for execution by theprocessor further cause the processor to select the model having a bestweighted sum value as the selected model from a subset of the modelsthat each have an aspect ratio similarity to the aspect ratio of theimage blob bounding box that satisfies a threshold condition.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer readableprogram code instructions for execution by the processor further causethe processor to select one of a single-dimension scaling process and amulti-dimension scaling process as appropriate to the object type of thereplacing polygonal three-dimensional model; wherein thesingle-dimension and multi-dimension scaling processes are appropriateto different ones of the object types of the polygonal three-dimensionalmodel; and wherein the scaling the bounding box ratio of the replacingpolygonal three-dimensional model comprises using the selected one ofthe single-dimension scaling process and the multi-dimension scalingprocess.